THE ROOM: the room is furnished with four large bookcases. The one to the left of the writing desk contains precious ancient volumes of Roman and canon law, including the Pandects and the Codex Justinian dating back to 1500. The armchairs and curtains are made from the same fabric, while a nineteenth-century carpet entirely covers the old majolica floor beneath. Under the small writing desk is a coin cabinet used to store ancient coin collections.

TRADITIONS: CULTURE:  the library is steeped in history and culture. The decorations on the vaulted ceiling depict four figures in the corners: Dante Alighieri, Christopher Columbus, Vincenzo Bellini and Gian Battista Odierna (the seventeenth-century Ragusan astronomer, architect and jurist). At the centre, relief stuccoes depict scenes from the Holy Bible, poems by Homer and Virgil, a compass, a set square and telescope, as well as a musical stave. Together, they gather and condense the different branches of human knowledge as understood at the time. On the console, copies of letters from Gabriele D’Annunzio and Vittorio Emanuele Orlando to Angelo Majorana are displayed as evidence of the many forms of cultural expression represented here. Majorana, great-grandfather of the palazzo’s current owner, served as Deputy Prime Minister and as Minister of Finance and of the Treasury under the Giolitti government.

AND CUSTOMS: the two elegant heads of the household are presented in splendid late eighteenth-century formal attire, richly embroidered and decorated. These garments, known as habits à la française de cour, were often worn for audiences at the court of Palermo. They consisted of three main pieces: the marsina (habit), a decorated formal jacket, a waistcoat (veste), and knee breeches (culottes).

The green suit is made of damask silk and taffeta, with silver-thread and French wire decorations, typical of the Rococo style. The brown suit is made of patterned silk with a fine geometric motif and is enhanced with elaborate floral embroidery in polychrome silk thread. Typical details from this period include: the high band collar, the embroidered facings echoing the motifs on the pockets and cuffs, the riding-coat cut with ‘cutaway fronts’ – the front of the coat sloping back towards the rear – and buttons covered to match the fabric of the coat. The ensemble would have been completed by a silk waistcoat with matching embroidery, buckled shoes and a ceremonial sword.